After visiting Beyterek Tower, we went somewhere that turned out to be closed until winter. It looked like it was a frozen-over pond.
So then we headed onto Duman, a large indoor entertainment complex located near the Mega Center (mall and other large indoor entertainment complex) and on the Bus 35 route. Valerie had gone here during my first or second weekend here. She had texted me about seeing a bunch of fun games that Sophia might enjoy.
Large, colorful fake cactus stood at the entrance to the building. We walked in and the principal paid our entry. I don't know how much it was, but I don't think it was too much.
Inside it was like a mini amusement park or oversized Chuck E Cheese's. There was a bungee-trampoline thing; a large plastic ball like a hamster ball but for humans; countless other rides and amusements. After checking our coats, we headed towards the entrance to the Oceanarium, which was inside the building.
Again, the principal paid our entry. Adults were 700 Tenge (a little over $4); Sophia was half that. He paid 100 Tenge for a ticket granting me permission to use my camera. Hm, interesting way to make a bit of extra money.
The Oceanarium was small--what do you expect when you're so far away from the ocean? But it was nice, and Sophia, who loves all aquariums, loved it. The first exhibit was 'Fish of Kazakhstan.' Then came the turtles from the "eastern states of the United States." Oh, look! Turtles from South Carolina! I laughed and took a picture of the sign and the animals. I traveled halfway around the world to see turtles from home.
The next few exhibits were from South America, which the principal assumed meant they were from my home, since I am from the southern part of the United States of America. Nope, I had to tell him; South America is rather different than southern USA. My 2nd grade students last year made the same mistake.
Then came the part for which the Oceanarium is famous: the shark tunnel. You walk on a path in this long tunnel; to your sides and above you is the aquarium. Sharks, turtles, and other fish swim around and above you. It's really cool and I wanted to take a ton of pictures. Sophia thought it was really cool and wanted to run ahead. Also, my camera batteries had died so I had bought new ones at the entrance to Duman. These were in poor condition and my camera was not working too well.
One shark had fallen asleep with its fin resting against the window-wall. It was so close, I could almost touch it! "Anyone want their picture taken with a shark?" I asked, and quickly another teacher posed by the shark.
I had to grab Sophia and hold her in order for us to be in a photo.
At the end of the tunnel, Sophia found her favorite fish--Nemo! A whole bunch of clown fish swimming in and around some anemones. She loved watching them.
Then we went through another shark tunnel; only one section was not shark-infested waters, but rather warm water. Tropical fish swam around in abundance, as well as a mermaid.
Guess who was intrigued?
Sophia, of course! And me, and just about everyone else there. Ok, we really shouldn't have been that intrigued by a young Russian girl in a mermaid costume, but we were. Her mermaid outfit was sparkling red, her hair was long, dark blond and flowing, and she had on a snorkel to help her breathe. Sophia immediately noticed that and told me that she wasn't a real mermaid; a real mermaid can breathe underwater. Still, we all were mesmerized.
I thought about the job--swim in circles with tropical fish, swimming like a fish not a person, looking lithe and graceful and waving at the tourists. On the one hand it sounds fun--getting paid to swim with fish, not a job that requires much thinking or much to stress out about. On the other hand, it could get very tiring and boring.
After staring, entranced, at the mermaid for some time, we finally made our way out and into the gift shop. There, Sophia found plenty of stuffed animals and I felt like I had been whisked away to Charleston, South Carolina, or some other seaside place. Seashells, starfish and ocean-themed souvenir items abounded. Have I mentioned that Kazakhstan is NOWHERE NEAR THE OCEAN?
Sophia found a stuffed stingray she liked for 800 Tenge; she only had 500 Tenge of her own. I was getting ready to tell her that I'd pay the 300 Tenge if she paid 500, when I saw the principal purchasing a stuffed stingray. He bought her a present! Oh, yes, he's definitely Sophia's favorite principal ever!
"I picked this school because of the principal," she told me, "even though I didn't know him then." (She hadn't really picked this school--although I had asked her what she thought before I made the final decision to sign the contract.)
We then went onto a restaurant that had "Burger" in its title and supposedly is listed in my Lonely Planet (which I lent to Valerie, who said that the restaurant was in the book). It was nearly empty and we had a small room to ourselves. We pushed a bunch of tables together, washed our hands, and then went to order.
Sophia was thrilled that they had cheese pizza, so of course she ordered that. I was happy to see doners on the menu, and ordered that--as apparently did most everyone else. Doners are Turkish, and consist mostly of meat sliced off a large rotating round of meat... Ok, I don't fully know what doners are and I can't describe them. But I had my first in Berlin and I absolutely love them. I suspect our hosts (principal and vice principal) were happy, to take a group of English-speaking foreigners to a restaurant that serves American-style food, and most of us ordered Turkish food.
The doner wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was good. Sophia enjoyed her pizza, although it came without sauce. I was happy to see that nothing extra had been put on it. Valerie had ordered a sausage pizza, and it came with olives and a bunch of other things.
We were going to head back to Independence Place then, but Bert had to be dropped off so he could go to an interview, and Valerie requested that she be dropped off at the same time, and so the principal decided that we would postpone touring Independence Place until later.
Valerie lives right behind Anvar, our supermarket, so Christie and I exited then, so we could do some quick shopping. Valerie took us in to show us where to find baking powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. She promised to give me a super-easy recipe for sugar cookies.
The field trip was definitely a fun trip around Astana. I now feel like I could be a somewhat competent tour guide, should the need every arise. And I'm ready to take Sophia back to Duman for her birthday!
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